A final showdown before GOP primary

June 03, 2010|By Kimball Payne, kpayne@dailypress.com | 247-4765

CHESAPEAKE — — Call it political speed dating.

Five of the six congressional hopefuls running for the Republican nomination in Virginia's 2nd District squared off Thursday morning in a wide-ranging radio debate that touched on everything from taxes to Cuba.

In a steamy Chesapeake studio with a single rotating fan, Ben Loyola, Ed Maulbeck, Bert Mizusawa, Jessica Sandlin and Scott Taylor took turns grabbing a microphone over two hours to share their opinions with listeners on a local AM station — 1650 AM and 670 AM.

The lone holdout was frontrunner Scott Rigell who faced a significant serving of ire for missing the show. As the candidates gave their closing statements, host Steve Batton jokingly opened the floor to Rigell drawing howls of laughter.

But not everyone was so lighthearted. Maulbeck said Rigell's links to the GOP establishment, his car dealership's work with Cash for Clunkers and support for higher taxes for road upgrades mean "we basically need to destroy him as a group."

Loyola used much of his airtime to tout his endorsement from the Hampton Roads Tea Party and the Virginia Beach Taxpayers Alliance. But Maulbeck noted that the backing was from the board of the tea party and the founder of the alliance — not endorsements from the groups' members.

"You basically lied on air," Maulbeck said.

Loyola shrugged off the accusation, stressing his business background and calling for Washington reform. Comparing politicians to diapers, Loyola suggested mandating turnover in Congress.

"We need term limits," he said. "Lifetime politicians are the problem."

Mizusawa stressed his background as a congressional staffer on the House Armed Services Committee, saying if elected he would ask for a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee, which makes major decisions about tax policy and entitlement spending.

"I've got more time in Congress that anyone in this race — including Glenn Nye," he said. Primary voters should concentrate on "which candidate has the best chance of beating Glenn Nye in November."

The candidates also sparred about the possibility of a local aircraft carrier moving to Mayport, Fla. — a fear that according to military documents appears to have been pushed back about five years to 2019.

Taylor conceded that Nye deserves some credit for bringing people together to rally against moving a Hampton Roads-based carrier south. But Taylor countered that Nye should have focused on the $1 billion it could take to upgrade the Florida port to handle nuclear-powered ships.

"The stand that should have been taken is that we don't have the money," said Taylor, who wrapped up his day by giving his cell phone number out on air.

Sandlin warned that simply working to bring federal cash back to the district is hunting for the "biggest piece of the pie" and isn't necessarily good for the country.

"That myopic view has gotten us into a lot of trouble," she said.

The election is Tuesday. The 2nd District reaches from the Eastern Shore, through Virginia Beach and Norfolk, and into a sliver of Hampton.